1. Field of the Invention
A hurdle to advances in preventing and treating cancer is the lack of agents that effectively target a cancer or pre-cancerous tissue while sparing normal tissues. Radiation therapy and surgery, which are typically localized treatments, can cause substantial damage to normal tissue in the treatment field, resulting in scarring and loss of normal tissue. Furthermore, chemotherapy, which is typically a systemic treatment, can cause substantial damage to normal organs such as non-cancerous skin, bone marrow, mucosa, and small intestine, in particular because these tissues undergo rapid cell turnover and continuous cell division. As a result, undesirable side effects such as nausea, loss of hair and drop in blood cell count can result from systemic treatment with a chemotherapeutic agent. Such undesirable side effects often limit the amount of drug that can be safely administered, thereby reducing patient survival rates and quality of life.
Selective delivery of therapeutics such as anti-angiogenic agents to vasculature that supports tumors would result in less toxic therapy since rapidly proliferating normal cells would be spared. Similarly, selective delivery of anti-angiogenic agents to vasculature of premalignant tissues would provide a prophylactic strategy for reducing the risk of cancer. However, to date, it has been difficult to produce drugs that are delivered specifically to tumor vasculature or to vasculature of premalignant tissues. Thus, there is a need for molecules that selectively target tumor tissues and vasculature, such as pancreatic tumors and vasculature, as well as for molecules that selectively target premalignant tissues and vasculature, such as premalignant pancreas and vasculature. The present invention satisfies these needs and provides related advantages as well.
2. Background Information
A hurdle to advances in preventing and treating cancer is the lack of agents that effectively target a cancer or pre-cancerous tissue while sparing normal tissues. Radiation therapy and surgery, which are typically localized treatments, can cause substantial damage to normal tissue in the treatment field, resulting in scarring and loss of normal tissue. Furthermore, chemotherapy, which is typically a systemic treatment, can cause substantial damage to normal organs such as non-cancerous skin, bone marrow, mucosa, and small intestine, in particular because these tissues undergo rapid cell turnover and continuous cell division. As a result, undesirable side effects such as nausea, loss of hair and drop in blood cell count can result from systemic treatment with a chemotherapeutic agent. Such undesirable side effects often limit the amount of drug that can be safely administered, thereby reducing patient survival rates and quality of life.
Selective delivery of therapeutics such as anti-angiogenic agents to vasculature that supports tumors would result in less toxic therapy since rapidly proliferating normal cells would be spared. Similarly, selective delivery of anti-angiogenic agents to vasculature of premalignant tissues would provide a prophylactic strategy for reducing the risk of cancer. However, to date, it has been difficult to produce drugs that are delivered specifically to tumor vasculature or to vasculature of premalignant tissues. Thus, there is a need for molecules that selectively target tumor tissues and vasculature, such as pancreatic tumors and vasculature, as well as for molecules that selectively target premalignant tissues and vasculature, such as premalignant pancreas and vasculature. The present invention satisfies these needs and provides related advantages as well.